Packaging machine



Jan. 21, 1964 P; A. VAN DE BILT 3,118,356

PACKAGING MACHINE Filed Nov. 15, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR fi/fme A. 1 4/1 05 5M7 BY MW ATTORNEY Jan. 21, 1964 P. A. VAN DE BlLT 3,118,366

PACKAGING MACHINE Filed Nov. 15. 1960 v 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Fame 4. V4 6 5/4 7 ATTORNEY United States Patent 7 3,118,366 PACKAGWG MAQHINE Pieter A. van de Bilt, Maartensdijk, Netherlands, assignor to N. V. Metaverpa Maartensdijk, Netherlands, a Dutch limited liability company Filed Nov. 15, 1966, Ser. No. 69,491 Claims priority, application Netherlands Nov. 25, 1959 4 tjlaims. (Cl. 190-4) The invention relates to a packaging machine of the type described in my U.S. Patents Nos. 3,060,839, 3,060,- 840 and 3,060,841 of October 30; 1962 by means of which wire or tape is tied about the package in such a way that a wire passed around the package in a guide is applied about the package by retracting and tightening the wire and the ends are subsequently tied'together, said machine comprising a work table and an abutting mechanism with limited movability which, when displaced by a package, performs a switching operation, in consequence of which the machine performs a packaging cycle. Automatically operating packaging machines of this type are widely known, and the abutting mechanism used therein consists of one or several abutments which are located in the path of the package and which, when a package abuts against them, perform a slight movement, as a result of which a contact is closed which actuates the machine, thus applying a wire or tape about the package, upon which at the end of this packaging operation the abutment is automatically retracted by a mechanism specially provided for the purpose, so that the package is able to move on and, if several wires have to be applied, abuts against the next abutment, which causes the same operation to be per-formed. It is often necessary to take special precautions to ensure that the packages entering the machine are kept at some distance from each other, or the abutting mechanism has to be so constructed that when the last packaging operation for a given package is completed, a distance is automatically created bet-ween said package and the next, e.g. because the package is tilted slightly.

Now the object of the present invention is to furnish a considerably simpler mechanism, and this object is achieved according to the invention by the fact that the work table is provided with rollers projecting above the surface of the table, said rollers being placed obliquely relative to the direction of travel in such a way that the package is guided against a lateral guide which is located on the side of the machine turned away from the feeding end of the wire, which lateral guide is followed in the direction of travel by one or more abutments, the first of which lies practically in a straight line with the lateral guide, but projects slightly inwards therefrom, while any subsequent abutment is located more and more towards the middle of the work table. The packages fed into the machine are then guided by the obliquely placed rollers against a fixed guide and thus come into contact with the first abutment. The latter then actuates the machine, while use is made in an efficient way of the slight shift of the package taking place, during the tightening of the wire about the package, in the drawing direction of the wire, which during this tightening process moves in the direction opposite to its feeding direction, as a result of which the package is automatically disengaged from the abutment which engaged it sideways. After completion of the operation the package is able to move on over the obliquely placed rollers, in consequence of which the package is again shifted sideways, thus abutting against the next abutment, where the same operation is repeated, i.e. a wire is placed around the package, the package being pulled oil the abutment during the process of tightening the wire.

The abutting mechanism may be of an extremely simple construction and according to the invention may consist of a bar slidably supported on the work table, which bar is fitted with projections and is directed obliquely inwards in the direction of travel from the end of the fixed guide. This bar, fitted with one or more projections forming the abutments, is adapted to cooperate with a single contact and is readjusted by a spring as soon as the package is disengaged from the abutment.

The invention will now be elucidated further with reference to the drawings.

FIGURE 1 is a top'view of the working surface of a packaging machine.

FIGURE 2 is a vertical cross-section of the work table of the machine of FIGURE 1.

The machine shown in the drawings consists of the work table 1, which is provided at regular intervals with two rows of openings 2, through which project rollers 3-, which, as is evident from FIGURE 1, are placed obliquely relative to the direction of travel of a package through the machine, indicated by an arrow. Fitted 0n the work table 1 is a fixed guide 4, which extends as far as the plane where the wire is applied, which plane is determined by the wire-guiding frame 5, through which the wire is fed on the left in FIGURE 1 by the portion of the guide lying in the plane of the work table, upon which it is passed around the package by the rectangular guiding frame until its end is gripped underneath the package in a clamp. For the performance of the packaging operation the wire is retracted, thus being drawn from the guiding frame 5 and being tightened about the package, in consequence of which the package is shifted slightly to the left, relative to the direction of the arrow of FIG- URE 1.

'Each of the packages placed on the work table is then guided by the obliquely placed rollers 3 against the guide 4 and moves on along said guide until the leading righthand corner of the package abuts against an abutment 6 of a bar 7, which is supported on the angle iron 8, fixed on the work table, so as to shift longitudinally; by this shift the contact 10 is operated via the arm 9, as a result of which the machine is actuated. As the wire is tightened the package 11 (denoted by broken lines) is drawn off the abutment 6, the latter consequently being returned to its initial position by the spring 12. The package then moves on past the abutment 6 until it abuts against the abut-ment 13, in consequence of which the bar 7 is again shifted and the contact It} is closed again. The obliquely placed rollers 3 ensure that the package is guided with certainty against the next abutment. The abutments 6 and 13 are so placed that the abutment 13 lies slightly further towards the middle of the work table 'than the abutment 6.

As appears from FIGURE 2, the rollers 3 are supported in a frame 3a which can be moved with the aid of the pneumatic cylinder 14 in such a way that the rollers disappear beneath the surface of the work table. These rollers are always retracted as soon as, by the closing of the contact 10, the machine has been actuated for the performance of a packaging operation, since the machine cannot operate properly until the package rests flatly on the working surface of the table. As soon as the package can be moved on, the rollers are forced up again through the openings 2.

The apparatus obtained in this way is very simple and requires no special provisions for keeping the packages at some distance from each other.

What I claim is:

1. A wire binding machine comprising a table over which a package to be bound is passed, a package guiding member mounted on the table on one side thereof, means for feeding a wire from the side of the table opposite the package guiding member transversely across the table towards the package guiding member to form a loop which is applied about the package by retracting and tightening the wire and subsequently tieing the ends together, a plurality of rollers projecting above the surface of the table and over which the package is passed, said rollers having their axes positioned obliquely to the guiding member at the side of the table so that passage of the package over the rollers displaces the package against said guiding member, abutment means to be contacted by the package during passage over the table while in engagement with the guiding member, said abutment means being positioned to lie substantially in a straight line with said guiding member, but projecting slightly inwardly therefrom, and switch means actuated by the abutment means to energize the machine to perform a binding cycle.

2. A machine according to claim 1 in which the abutment means is carried by a sliding bar supported on the work table so as to slide against spring pressure, said bar being directed obliquely inwards in the direction of travel from the end of the guiding member.

3. A machine according to claim 2 in which a plurality of abutments are provided on the bar to be successively engaged by the package.

4. A machine according to claim 1 wherein the rollers are carried by a frame, and means are provided for shifting the frame and rollers between a position in which the rollers project above the table before and after tying the wire ends and a position in which the rollers are retracted beneath the table during tying of the wire ends.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,334,736 Willcox Nov. 23. 1943 2,619,027 Sykes Nov. 25, 1952 2,818,795 Gustafson Jan. 7, 1958 2,818,954 Vice Jan. 7, 1958 2,827,999 Raynor Mar. 25, 1958 FOREIGN PATENTS 536,762 Great Britain May 27, 1941 

1. A WIRE BINDING MACHINE COMPRISING A TABLE OVER WHICH A PACKAGE TO BE BOUND IS PASSED, A PACKAGE GUIDING MEMBER MOUNTED ON THE TABLE ON ONE SIDE THEREOF, MEANS FOR FEEDING A WIRE FROM THE SIDE OF THE TABLE OPPOSITE THE PACKAGE GUIDING MEMBER TRANSVERSELY ACROSS THE TABLE TOWARDS THE PACKAGE GUIDING MEMBER TO FORM A LOOP WHICH IS APPLIED ABOUT THE PACKAGE BY RETRACTING AND TIGHTENING THE WIRE AND SUBSEQUENTLY TIEING THE ENDS TOGETHER, A PLURALITY OF ROLLERS PROJECTING ABOVE THE SURFACE OF THE TABLE AND OVER WHICH THE PACKAGE IS PASSED, SAID ROLLERS HAVING THEIR AXES POSITIONED OBLIQUELY TO THE GUIDING MEMBER AT THE SIDE OF THE TABLE SO THAT PASSAGE OF THE PACKAGE OVER THE ROLLERS DISPLACES THE PACKAGE AGAINST SAID GUIDING MEMBER, ABUTMENT MEANS TO BE CONTACTED BY THE PACKAGE DURING PASSAGE OVER THE TABLE WHILE IN ENGAGEMENT WITH THE GUIDING MEMBER, SAID ABUTMENT MEANS BEING POSITIONED TO LIE SUBSTANTIALLY IN A STRAIGHT LINE WITH SAID GUIDING MEMBER, BUT PROJECTING SLIGHTLY INWARDLY THEREFROM, AND SWITCH MEANS ACTUATED BY THE ABUTMENT MEANS TO ENERGIZE THE MACHINE TO PERFORM A BINDING CYCLE. 